Addiction

A few days ago, in my mind, I saw a vision of a baby chicken pecking its way out of an egg shell. Suppose, I thought, this chick had not been endowed by the creator with the knowledge of how to break out of its shell? It would have possibly died because it could not get free. Suddenly, I realized that the vision related to this article I was writing. People often get deeply involved in visual and emotional traumatizing situations without a true knowledge of how to stop, or how to be delivered.

GLOUCESTER - Each morning when Steven Tozer pulled up to the smoke shop to feed his addiction to spice in the spring of 2013, a line of frazzled, desperate people would already be waiting outside. If the customers in line didn't have money, they had other things they could barter for the synthetic drugs that swept over Gloucester and the lower Middle Peninsula with a fury unlike anything law enforcement and health professionals had ever seen. "They would take anything," said Tozer, later sentenced to nearly five years in prison for residential burglaries he blames largely on his addiction to spice.

"The Anonymous People," a feature film about the 23.5 million Americans living in long-term recovery from drug and alcohol addiction will be shown at Regal Kiln Creek Stadium 20 at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2 ... if enough people buy $10.50 tickets in advance. The film is brought to the Peninsula by Gathr, a crowd-sourcing distribution service. Its theatrical "on demand" process allows moviegoers to bring the movies they want to watch to a local theater with no facility rental cost, but they must reach a critical mass.

"The Anonymous People," a feature film about the 23.5 million Americans living in long-term recovery from drug and alcohol addiction will be shown at Regal Kiln Creek Stadium 20 at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2 ... if enough people buy $10.50 tickets in advance. The film is brought to the Peninsula by Gathr, a crowd-sourcing distribution service. Its theatrical "on demand" process allows moviegoers to bring the movies they want to watch to a local theater with no facility rental cost, but they must reach a critical mass.

Q: Is it true that there are no medicines to help with crack cocaine addiction? I am a former user and am thinking about using again. What can I do to lose these thoughts and urges? -- Anonymous A: It is true that there are no current medications specifically for the use of cocaine. Naltrexone, which is an anti-craving medication, can help for some for some people because craving for all drugs is mediated -- at least in part -- through the same mechanism. There is a "cocaine vaccination" under development.

When she first started dating him, Mary J. Nelson told her friends something had to be wrong with Leon Paul Oliver because he seemed too perfect. At the time, she didn't realize how prophetic those words would be. She never dreamed that the man who had brought her flowers and presents would one day hold her down and forcibly inject her with heroin, or handcuff her to a bed until the withdrawl pains were so severe she'd beg for an injection. Thursday, she walked out of court a free woman.

If you want to warn kids off drugs, who would etch the deeper image: A middle-class educator who counsels for a living or a former druggie and convicted felon who knows what it's like to live the "animalistic lifestyle" of addiction? With Crystal Rivera, you don't have to choose -- she's both. The 47-year-old HIV/AIDS counselor knows precisely what it's like to start out mainstream and end up in the gutter. She knows all about bad choices, about the dark nirvana of cocaine and booze, about falling so hard you swear you'll never get up again.

Electronic version of this article was lost during the computer program. The following is the first three paragraphs followed by any other key information. For complete text see microfilm. He couldn't believe he was back in the same situation. Again thoughts of a lover were invading his sleep, stealing his appetite. He pined, his day held hostage in anticipation of her attention. He always felt that real love should consume him as she had, but now he felt totally empty. What was wrong, he wondered?

Accused cocaine dealer Charles Ray Carrithers failed a drug test the day he entered a rehabilitation center Jan. 19, and the doctor who treated him there for nearly a month called Carrithers' addiction "as severe as we see." Carrithers, a former real-estate broker from an upper-class neighborhood, was to have stood trial Jan. 18 on two charges of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute it, but his trial was delayed so he could undergo treatment at St. John's Hospital in Richmond.

Congress finally reachesdebt-ceiling deal Just hours before the country was set to go into default, the U.S. Congress approved a deal that would allow the country to pay its creditors and reopen the shuttered federal government. •Ronald Thomas Smith: Just think, unless the people we sent to Washington to work for us smarten up, we get to do this all over again after the first of the year. Are Oreos addictive? Oreo cookies can be as addictive as cocaine, according to a study.

Every week we're reminded how it's important to be ready for a weather crisis or other emergency situation. In Virginia, hurricane season begins June 1 and the state wants you to be ready. Go to http://www.ReadyVirginia.gov to learn how. You can also learn to be prepared by taking the James City County Community Emergency Response Team course. Volunteers are trained in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations.

A few days ago, in my mind, I saw a vision of a baby chicken pecking its way out of an egg shell. Suppose, I thought, this chick had not been endowed by the creator with the knowledge of how to break out of its shell? It would have possibly died because it could not get free. Suddenly, I realized that the vision related to this article I was writing. People often get deeply involved in visual and emotional traumatizing situations without a true knowledge of how to stop, or how to be delivered.

Don't leave education to chance Last week's Mega Millions mania, which resulted in a record-setting jackpot of $640 million, offered an interesting peek into human nature: •No matter how hard the times, people will scramble to purchase a ticket that has a one- in-176-million chance of being the big winner. The odds don't seem to matter. •Frenzy builds on frenzy. Free publicity generated by news stories about the growing jackpot led to a rush on convenience stores, gas stations and grocery stores.

Teresa Epps Fletcher is a woman on a mission. Her vision is that those recovering from drug abuse have a place to go for support. The native of Newport News opened First Community Center in Newport News at the intersection of 79th and Jefferson Avenue to provide a haven and a free meal for those with drug dependencies. She has four volunteers and a professional counselor helping her at the center. Prior to opening the center in June 2011, Epps Fletcher had been helping people at the church that formerly met on the site.

The Virginian Pilot is reporting on allegations that the Hampton VA Medical Center prescribed larger doses than necessary of possibly addictive pain killers. A doctor at the hospital is alleging she was fired for being a whistleblower. Check out the complete story here.

I bought the book "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey long after Oprah Winfrey dragged the author over the proverbial coals for what a court of law has just recently determined to be consumer fraud. My copy came with a one-page, loose-leaf insert explaining that the book was not strictly autobiographical, as at first purported. I glanced at the disclaimer, tossed it and set to reading. At first the story moved slowly. At one point I came to a complete halt before dropping the attempt for a few days.

An Albemarle County man who viewed child pornography as part of a porn addiction will serve three months in jail and receive therapy. Circuit Judge Paul M. Peatross Jr. sentenced John Jeffrey Leonard on Thursday to five years in prison each on 10 counts of possession of child pornography, suspending all but three months. During the second half of Leonard's sentencing hearing in Albemarle Circuit Court, a local forensic psychologist who has evaluated Leonard testified that Leonard doesn't have a "measurable sexual interest" in children, as determined by a test.

Some drinking? Re: The Jan. 9 article "Alcoholism revisited: Addiction experts say 'controlled drinking' can work for some": I am stunned. How could you run an article basically giving a "permission slip" to people with an alcohol problem to drink? There are some people who passionately fight each and every day to stay dry. Wow, what a break - I can have four drinks a day and still be fine. Do you think it will stop at four drinks? My definite answer is no. I am speaking from experience.